After years in the doldrums it
looks as if the art of making 3D images is about to come back
in a BIG way, this time in the form of cinema films, however, it is
inevitable that this will re-stimulate a resurgence in the 3D genre in
general.
In the past there have been two
main ways to project and view 3D films to large audiences. One method
uses anaglyph technology. This is where glasses with one
red and one blue (cyan) lens must be worn enable to viewer to see the
depth effect of the projected, colour shifted image. Most people are
familiar with this format. Anaglyphs create a great effect of
depth, but it isn't real 3D and the wearing of coloured glasses is
quite stressful to the eyes over protracted periods of time. There
were a number of films made using this technique in the 1950's
The other commonly used method
of viewing projected 3D films and images is through the use of
polarised glasses. This is achieved by deliberately
restricting the light that reaches each eye through the use of
filters. Two images are projected through orthogonal polarising
filters onto the same screen and the viewer wears spectacles, looking
similar to sun glasses, that consist of orthogonally polarised
filters. Each filter passes the light which is similarly polarised,
resulting in each eye seeing a slightly different image, thus creating
the 3-D depth effect. Cinemas showing this type of film require a
specially designed silvered screen, because 3D projection onto a
standard screen causes a loss of polarisation.
The projection of films in 3D is
by no means a recent invention, in fact, as far back as the late
1930's Edwin H. Land created a film to be projected using the
polarised method.
The advent of high quality
digital projection has reawakened film makers interest in presenting
films in 3D, coupled with the increasing need to continue to find new
things to draw people to the cinema. In recent years 3D films, such as
Polar Express,
have proved themselves to be major money earners for the film
industry.
Almost all major feature films currently being made are also being produced
in a 3D format as well. These films are most commonly being presented in IMAX
theatres, but the trend will be towards smaller cinemas as the trend
grows.
Huge amounts of money are being
sunk into the film making industry to make 3D films and that is a sure
sign that in return, 3D film and cinema will produce gigantic profits for
its
investors.
Once people have become used to
watching three dimensional films it will soon become the norm and 3D
will no longer just be the
reserve of a few specialist collectors. This will spread
into 3D photography (already easily within the reach of most people)
and 3D gaming.
3D collecting will boom and prices will rise sharply for scarcer,
collectable items.
The past few years have seen a
sure and steady rise in the value of 3D items, most notable are those
bearing the View-Master brand name, although, as this web site
demonstrates, the 3D world is vastly larger than just this one brand.
There has never been a better
time to start collecting 3D. For those that thought that the 3D era
stopped when the View-Master brand passed to Fisher-Price, I say,